When it comes to sewing, one of my favorite projects is always the quilt. This Christmas I made lap size ones for all of my children. Something nice and warm that they can curl up under while they watch television or read. I often make smaller doll sized ones for PanKwake. Baby ones for pregnant friends. And even occasionally a full size one…I may need to do so soon for Cookie and I.
This is one of my favs…my goals quilt. Of course it is moving with me…though those goals must change. It has hung on the wall at the foot of my bed for almost two years as a constant reminder of what is important, where I am going and what I want/need in life. And it only took me a day to make.
Actually, quilting is the perfect beginners project. Oh, not the intricate hand sewn Amish ones…I may never have the patience or the time for such things, but I think most of you would rather me stitch together plots, characters and stories. But a basic doll, baby or lap quilt can be accomplished in a matter of hours…if you keep it simple with squares and straight seams. Yet it can still be a wonderful and unique work of art…flaws and all.
That is the other reason that I love quilts…they are analogy for life itself. You take these scraps or small pieces of material…sometimes even tattered old rags. You cut them back to the shape that you want. Then you sew them together. You arrange those pieces the way that suits you. You make it yours…your way. Then it keeps you warm and safe for years to come. Can be thrown in the washer and used over and over again.
And if it ain’t perfect? What is?
Sew here is the challenge…begin to collect old scraps this week. Old clothes even…Esther made a quilt out of pieces of her dead son Tommy’s old clothes: scout uniforms, football, and of course one of his Marine ones too. What a wonderful way to save precious memories!
Whatever you have on hand or if you must…CHEAP material off the discount table that shouts at you. Then over the next couple of weeks we will make on of those lap quilts like I did for all mine. It is simpler than you think.
Tara Cox - Literary Erotica 